


sandezahara

by AllegoriesInMediasRes



Series: Ramayana fics [25]
Category: Ramayana - Valmiki
Genre: Canon Compliant, Court Dynamics, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Female-Centric, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Misses Clause Challenge, Moral Ambiguity, Morally Ambiguous Character, Oneshot, Yuletide, Yuletide 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:35:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21613933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllegoriesInMediasRes/pseuds/AllegoriesInMediasRes
Summary: Sulochana, wife of Indrajit, visits Sita in the garden.sandezahara (Sanskrit): envoy, female messenger, news-bringer
Relationships: Indrajit/Pramila (Ramayana), Indrajit/Sulochana (Ramayana), Sulochana & Sita
Series: Ramayana fics [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1105638
Comments: 14
Kudos: 14
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	sandezahara

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lobelia321](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lobelia321/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide, lobelia321! I was so excited to see that you had requested the Ramayana, and also to be able to write this fic exploring an under-explored female character!
> 
> This fic centers on the wife of Ravana’s eldest and most powerful son. Ravana’s son was born Meghnad and gained the name Indrajit due to his victories on the battlefield. His wife was born the daughter of Sheshnag, king of all serpents, and she is alternatively known as Sulochana and Pramila.
> 
> Brief references to pre-canon sexual assault.

Sulochana knows everything that happens in this palace, including that the guards have become friendly with the captive Sita, Sulochana’s cousin-in-law Trijata included. 

_(She worships her husband,_ Trijata had said during one of her downshifts, sharpening her nails although they were already as deadly as can be. _She believes he will come to save her, even after all these months._

 _So do I,_ Sulochana had said. _So would I._

 _They say the beggar broke Shiva’s bow, to win her hand._ It is not a retort — Trijata does not retort, her strength instead being far more subtle — but she had recognized the challenge.

_My husband defied Indra himself for my hand.)_

The guards all turn to her as she enters the garden, still awed by her even years after she first arrived in Lanka. She knows the effect her serpentine elegance has on others, and she is not ashamed of it. Only Sita remains unaffected, her weary demeanor never wavering. 

The guards are whispering about why the crown princess has come to visit the beggar. _She must be here to offer her some sympathy. If so, she’s gotten here too late. Had she been the first one to extend a hand of kindness, Sita might have been desperate enough to let her guard down. But Trijata has already filled that space in Sita’s heart._

The beggar regards Sulochana’s unexpected company with a nod but no smile, seemingly confirming the guards’ suspicions. _Sulochana will get nothing from her. Trijata claimed all the gratitude and trust she has to offer._

Sulochana pays them no mind. She needs neither Sita’s gratitude nor her trust for what she is about to do. 

“You know that they call my husband Meghnad, whose very voice frightened the thunder, even as a newborn infant?”

“And Indrajit as well, for conquering the gods. Do you intend to enumerate his many virtues? Your father-in-law does this all day, and here I am. Why do you think you will be any different?”

Sulochana ignores her; she knows that the beggar cannot be intimidated. The past ten months have made it clear that she would rather sit and die under this _ashoka_ tree. Sulochana is not here to break her. She just needs one instant of fear, one waver. 

Ravana has refused to allow any man to look upon Sita, his beloved son included, and Sulochana is here as an emissary on her husband’s behalf. 

“Suppose your husband forgets you. Suppose he tires of obstacle after obstacle.”

Sita lifts her eyes directly to her. “Would your husband ever forsake you?”

Sita can see right into her, and Sulochana feels a twinge of discomfort. She knows where to hit.

“You might not fear the men of my family, but what of the women? I can assure you my stepmothers-in-law are not nearly as gracious as Queen Mandodari, and they resent this hold that you have on my father-in-law. Every day you spend here is a day you test their wrath — and it was a scorned woman’s wrath, after all, that brought you here.”

Sita’s iron composure finally crumbles at the reminder of Surpanakha, the original catalyst of all her misery. There is something almost exquisite about watching it happen. Brown eyes snap shut, sweat beads up on her brow, and palms clench and unclench. She does her level best not to let Sulochana see.

It takes several seconds for her to regain herself, to find her voice, hoarse though it is. “It is because of a scorned woman’s curse that I remain pure. Queen Rambha of the Apsaras, at least, was able to grant me that safety.”

Sulochana takes no notice of this final repartee and leaves. 

She has instilled fear in her opponents many times — she would be no wife of Indrajit otherwise — but it always breaks each person a little differently. She knows now what fear does to the planes of Sita’s face, how her eyes flit and her lips part in terror, how her bosom heaves and her eyebrows crinkle. She came to the _ashoka_ garden for one purpose only, and she has discovered what she needs to know. 

Indrajit will be very pleased with her.

* * *

The women of Lanka learn what happens on the battlefield only through hearsay, but they feel it as keenly as do their menfolk. 

In his first act of war, Indrajit wields magic to his advantage and beheads an illusory Sita in front of the enemy army, so as to demoralize Rama. Rama and his brother Lakshman believe her to be real and nearly collapse from grief. Rumors say that even that windblown monkey, who had set half of Lanka on fire, confirmed she looked just as she had when he visited her months into her captivity. The beggar’s army had been in complete disarray before her husband’s traitor uncle Vibhishan allayed their fears.

The highest compliment an artist receives is that the audience was fooled, and Indrajit smiles in gratitude at her.

Sulochana is satisfied.

Indrajit is a master of magic, of course, but Sulochana’s descriptions were what _made_ the false Sita. Her mannerisms, the cadence of her voice, the familiarity of her fear as she was beheaded: all these little details ensured that Rama was so convinced he fainted. 

The ploy was ultimately unsuccessful, but they have shaken the enemy before anyone has fired a single arrow. 

Sulochana makes a visit to the garden once more, and Sita glances sidelong at her. 

“I had suspected you to be ruthless, but neither crafty nor cunning.”

She shrugs delicately, the way only a lady of the snakes can.

“You love your husband as much as I do, commit yourself to his success and honor as I do. Would you not do the same for him?”

Sulochana does not care about the answer, not really, but she is a little fascinated to witness such similar devotion in another woman.

Sita turns to gaze properly at her. The gleam in her eyes is unfazed, as hardy and rooted as the ashoka tree underneath which she has spent the last ten months. “I have already matched what you do. I have no need to resort to such underhandedness to serve my lord.”

She already knows that it will be _sindoor_ for one of them and _sati_ for the other and yet — and yet — Sulochana’s lips curve into a smile, and she dips her chin into a deep nod of acknowledgement before she turns to leave. 

**Author's Note:**

> The story about Indrajit killing a false Sita in front of Rama, so as to dishearten him, is taken directly from Valmiki’s original Ramayana. How exactly Rama discovers the deception varies in different versions, and in one of them, Vibhishan points out that Ravana has not allowed any man to look upon Sita, not even his favorite son, and the troops are reassured. The false Sita is still very convincing, so much that even Hanuman who recently saw her in Lanka believes it is her. While this perfect resemblance could simply be explained by the power of Indrajit’s magic, I wrote this to present a more practical explanation on the matter, and also to give Sulochana a role, a voice, and some agency. 
> 
> In some versions, prior to the events of the Ramayana, Ravana rapes the goddess Rambha, queen of the heavenly apsaras. In revenge, her husband Nalkuber curses Ravana so that if he ever raped another woman, his head would burst into seven pieces. The curse does not prevent Ravana from kidnapping Sita, imprisoning her, and threatening her with death, but it does keep him from raping her while he holds her captive.


End file.
